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Estimating the Benefits of Regionalizing Emergency Medical Service Provision

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2017

James M. Wilson  and
Daniel J. Dudek
James M. Wilson
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Development Research Institute
Daniel J. Dudek
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
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Abstract

Local area governments have experienced increasingly stringent budget constraints in recent years. Innovations in service delivery provide one avenue for increasing the effectiveness of resource allocations. This paper explores the potential savings available from regionalizing emergency medical service provision. A mixed integer programming model incorporating peak demand considerations is used to minimize service cost given a desired maximum response time. Changes in the weighted average response time measure the quality degradation required to attain the savings from cooperative provision. The results indicate that the benefits are substantial but that distribution of these gains is a possible barrier to implementation.

Type
Articles
Information
Northeastern Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , October 1985 , pp. 144 - 153
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

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Footnotes

The research reported in this paper was supported by the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development under subcontract no. OSP 2832. This paper has benefited from the comments of P. Geoffrey Allen and two anonymous reviewers. The authors assume complete responsibility for the contents.

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